<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=us-ascii"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16674" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=718013118-02072008> <DIV dir=ltr align=left><SPAN class=718013118-02072008><FONT face="Comic Sans MS"><FONT color=#000080> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'">Perhaps I'm just getting old and cynical, but -- over the past 40 odd years I've read probably a dozen <SPAN class=718013118-02072008>news </SPAN>articles describing how researchers using some new analytical tool or process <SPAN class=718013118-02072008>have </SPAN>discover<SPAN class=718013118-02072008>ed</SPAN> the “secret” of these violins. I can't possibly recall all of them but surely one of the most colorful was the "discovery" that Stradivarius soaked his woods in urine.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'"><?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" /><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'"><o:p><FONT color=#000000> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'">Being neither a violinist nor a violin maker I’m not qualified to pass judgment but several violin maker friends assure me that contemporary violin makers making violins superior to anything that either Guarneri or Stradivarius made. It would be sacrilege, of course, to say this publicly. </SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'"><o:p><FONT color=#000000> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'">Sometimes I wonder if beauty <SPAN class=718013118-02072008>might be </SPAN>most vividly beheld through the ear of the mythmaker.</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'"><o:p><FONT color=#000000> </FONT></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><SPAN style="COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: 'Comic Sans MS'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'">ddf</SPAN><SPAN style="FONT-FAMILY: 'Goudy Old Style'; mso-bidi-font-family: 'Goudy Old Style'"><o:p></o:p></SPAN></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"><o:p><FONT face="Cronos Pro" color=#000000> </FONT></o:p></P> <P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 0in 0in 0pt"></FONT></FONT></SPAN></SPAN> <HR tabIndex=-1> <FONT face=Tahoma size=2><B>From:</B> pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Berley Antoine Firmin II<BR><B>Sent:</B> July 02, 2008 5:15 AM<BR><B>To:</B> Pianotech List<BR><B>Subject:</B> Violin wood<BR></FONT><BR></P></DIV></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I thought you all might find this interesting:</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><A href="http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL0172939720080702?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews">http://www.reuters.com/article/scienceNews/idUSL0172939720080702?feedType=RSS&feedName=scienceNews</A></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Berley Firmin </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>LaCombe, Louisiana</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>